From the long ago of dates and names that escape us to the
right now of the sophisticated consumer human beings have been fascinated with
decoration. Put another way, it seems
that unlike other creatures great and small, wild and wonderful, human beings
have never been happy with who they are.
Embellishment has a quintessentially human signature; in word and
recall, and in curriculum vitae and promise.
And that, some might say, is the cultural logic of jewelry.
There’s demand and there’s supply. There are brands. There is gold and silver. And then there is creativity and innovation,
the things that differentiate exquisite from ordinary. And that’s what Charith
Beligaswatte is about.
Charith Beligaswatte is an upcoming designer from The
University of Moratuwa, Sri
Lanka; a young man who has invested his
creativity in the fascinating and always-popular business of jewelry
design. Indeed, this interest has
prompted him to complete a training program on the subject at the Gem and
Jewellery Research and Training Institute.
The world has admittedly come quite a distance from the time
that costume jewelry was considered ‘poor woman’s choice’ or rather lack
thereof. Today it’s not about just gold
or silver. Elegance and desirability
have become larger than those two metals.
Today it is less about the material than the magic that is inscribed on
it. That’s what Charith focuses on.
“I simply study trends and allow my hands to do the magic on
ceramic and metal’. Easy to say of
course. Charith considers it quite a challenge
to brand jewelry using these simple materials. He has to contend with a
number of issues. He has to use both
modern and traditional styles and still come up with something unique when he designs
unisex jewelry. He is very conscious of
his target market: ‘it is not for those who focus on the material used but
those who are drawn by the uniqueness of design.
Charith considers his designs fashionable. ‘They are modern but carry the trace of Sri
Lankan traditions. His jewelry is inspired by ambient and antique styles and
therefore carries a rustic signature. Each design is a personification of
innovation and necessarily so for one who places so much on creativity. Simplicity, however, is his watchword. Even as he strives for exclusivity and even
as he pours his passion into the creative exercise, Charith wants the outcome
to be simple. Perhaps that’s the final
test of elegance.
The philosophy itself is simple. The task is to give value to that which is
not considered to be valuable, to secure in aesthetic merit the value denied on
account of material-poverty. In other
words, whereas most of the work is done by the metal itself when it comes to
gold and silver jewelry, the craftsman’s task is that much more arduous when
using less valuable material to make something that can remain competitive.
Charith uses lesser metals, ceramic and leather as his main ingredients.
Where does the inspiration come from, though? This is what Charith has to say:
‘I have mainly focused on ancient Sri Lankan temple paintings
and lacquer (laksha) designs. I have incorporated their color schemes and
decorative patterns into my own work. The neutral color palette and retro color
combinations that fall under this trend will appeal to lovers of heritage
brands. Developing these ideas further, I created what I want to introduce as
my Traditional Jewelry Collection.
'A rough draft of the design is created, and then the white
clay imported from Australia
is molded into the desired form, upon which creating intricate carvings and
patterns are inscribed. Some are fret carvings, and some are flat surfaces
engraved and some molded into delicate shapes and then painted. Once it has
been painted, a final coat of glazing is applied to protect the detailing. It
is not durable compared to gold or silver of course but the value scores more
in terms of design. The aesthetic value
of merging metal, ceramic and leather is dramatic and beautiful. The colour
hues and tones worked into the material, tactile and smooth, shows variations
and how the designer has given life to the idea or concept.’
He had help. The
proprietor of ‘Pottery Work’, a shop located in Majestic City,
came forward to assist him, giving him access to the factory.
Charith obviously understands the market. The collection is attractive and tailor made
to suit the needs of the time, where the trend is towards antiques and vintage
collections. The young and even the middle aged are seeking designer jewelry.
The concept is to give the end user a feel that he or she is really wearing a
masterpiece of craftsmanship. Lovers of fantasy, antique, and vintage are the
likely consumers, bold enough and endowed with enough aesthetic sense to
express their personality through one-off designs.
Time moves and Charith is conscious of the fact. Each piece is originally designed and crafted
keeping in mind ever-changing fashion trends. Some of course are all-season
products and they allow him to cater to various segments of the population. The
bottom line is affordability without compromising what is commonly and perhaps
unthinkingly called ‘class’.
The question ‘what next?’ is perhaps not relevant to
Charith. This was something he put his
heart and soul into. He had always
wanted to know if it was possible to turn ceramic into jewelry. He’s found out
how and come out with some classic creations. He wanted to give value to
something not readily considered valuable.
He wanted to imprint on it the colour, line and nuance of tradition. He did that too. He didn’t sell his jewelry. He fulfilled a need, that’s all. The ‘what next?’ would most likely be about
other kinds of design for Charith is a final year student at Moratuwa University
studying furniture and interior design. We don’t know to what regions of
creativity life will lead him, but we could safely say that the philosophy of
simplicity, value-addition, drawing from the vast reservoir that is the
traditional will be loyal companions on his journey.
[published in the UNDO Section of 'The Nation', August 12, 2012]
2 comments:
this is a nice article. a different one. and we can see that his designs are so elegant. i like to wish him luck!
Charith is quite amazing. He was the best artist in my design class for technical drawings and otherwise. Great going Charith :)
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